I'm Here Now
by a. marguerite
Summary: Atticus Lincoln woke up with a bad feeling. After one of the doctors at Grey Sloan gets into a terrible car wreck, it's up to the doctors to save him before it's too late. The road to recovery is long, treacherous, and unknown, but no one said it was easy; Surgeons know it best.
1. Chapter 1: The Trauma

I'm Here Now

Chapter 1: The Trauma

All rights reserved to ABC and Grey's Anatomy

Warnings: Lots of cursing

**3rd Person's** **POV**

Atticus Lincoln had a feeling; he woke up feeling like something bad would happen. He almost didn't go to work, but he couldn't leave his fellow alone. Anyone with two eyes could see he's head over heels for that intern, Schmitt. Only God knows what would happen if they were there without Link's supervision.

Good for Nico, he thought as he downed the coffee from the attendings' lounge. Inside the hospital, the attending and his fellow were purely professional. But outside of their work, the two were best friends. They had come to Seattle together and before that, Link was Nico's mentor since he was a year two resident.

_"Dr. Lincoln," the young doctor murmured to Link as he was eating a sandwich at the dining hall, "I was wondering…"_

_"Yeah, Nico, what's up?" Link was always laid back when he wasn't treating patients. Being serious was tiring._

_"I was wondering if I could declare ortho as my specialty." The attending was surprised but not shocked. He was more surprised that Kim wanted to declare a specialty so early on in his residency. In all honesty, Link could see Nico's skill and passion for ortho and he told him as much. Needless to say, Nico left the attending feeling on Cloud 9._

Without Nico, Link wouldn't be Link. Having a student helped, not only Nico but himself as well. He had someone to mentor and form.

His pager went off, shocking him out of his gleeful flashback, for a 911 to the pit. This is where it begins, he thought. As Dr. Lincoln approached the ER, doctors and nurses were rushing everywhere, preparing for the incoming trauma. "This must be a big one," Link mumbled under his breath. He got a trauma gown and gloves on and made his way to the ambulance bay.

He approached Dr. Bailey, who was anxious for the first ambulance to arrive. "Do you know what happened?"

"Truck flipped on the I-90, caused a giant pileup." Miranda didn't bother turning to her ortho attending, they were both focused on the bay entrance. "Seattle Pres is already filling up. We gotta be ready for anything."

Ambulances pulled in and doctors began to crowd the doors. Link approached one and opened the door.

"Female, young 30s," the first responder began, "Found unconscious at the scene with a GSC of 11. She has a broken right foot, a dislocated shoulder, numerous bruises on her extremities, but no other external injuries found."

"Trauma 1, page Shepard." Link shut the door and followed the paramedic inside. After checking the patient, he set the woman's shoulder and sent for x-rays on her foot. Amelia ordered a CT for her but she couldn't find any damage.

"Where's your fellow, Dr. Lincoln?" she asked. He hadn't realized Nico wasn't there. The shoulder was an easy fix.

"I'm sure he's on his way."

"He's probably with Glasses." She snickered as she put her penlight back in her lab coat. "They've both got goo-goo eyes for each other. I'm surprised they can keep their hands off each other."

Though Link didn't realize when he smirked and left for another trauma, Amelia was getting choked up. She was thinking about how similar his fellow and her brother are. Nico is smart and you can tell he cares deeply about the people he loves. What strikes Amelia the most is how both of the men fell head over heels with interns. Though the scar from losing Derek was healed, it still stung. She was hopeful for the pair, since her brother brought so much warmth and love to everyone, especially Meredith. Dark and twisty Meredith Grey, daughter of the Ellis. She and Derek brought three beautiful children to the world and Derek is plain as day in each of them. Zola has his ambition, Bailey has his smile and his hair (though the color is different), and Ellis has his eyes. Oh, those eyes. Blazing blue with everything good about him packed in two little muscles. Amelia loves those kids with all of her heart because with them she knows that Derek lives on.

Like Atticus, Amelia knows how smart Nico is and how good of a surgeon he's becoming. Levi as well. That isn't the only thing Link and Amelia can agree on.

xXx

After sending in 2 more ambulances, Nico Kim was nowhere to be found. Link asked the nurses' station to page him again before going out for his fourth ambulance. The patients he had received weren't ortho or urgent, so he sent them on their way. The next ambulance came barreling in, a bit too fast for Link's liking. The paramedic was quick to unload this patient.

"Male, early- to mid-20s, unconscious at the scene, GCS of 5," the first-responder quickly listed off. "He doesn't look good."

Link wasn't listening anymore, he was focused on the patient himself. The EMT was right, he looked horrid, worse than any of the patients he's seen so far. His sweater and jeans were battered and bloody with trauma everywhere you looked; He had a large scalp lac and his curly hair was caked in blood and glass. But that wasn't the only unfortunate thing he noticed.

Dr. Webber approached Link as the paramedic finished the recap to help. The ortho attending looked to his fellow doctor in desperation, praying it wasn't what Link thought it was. Richard shook his head, it was barely discernible, but Link didn't miss it.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Dr. Webber bellowed to everyone surrounding him. "I need someone to go inside and tell the nurses to stop paging Dr. Kim. Keep him the hell away from this patient!"

Everyone was confused but someone rushed inside. Link mentally cursed for being the one to break the news. "This is Levi Schmitt."

"God!" he thought. "Why me? Why Schmitt?!"

xXx

**Nico's POV**

Shit, shit, shit! I'm late! I'm fucking late! My stupid fucking alarm didn't go off and now I'm late. My damn car wouldn't go fast enough to get to the hospital and the I-90 is shut down. Text messages from just about everyone asking where the hell I am for a massive trauma. Link is gonna hand me my ass for being there to assist. The hospital must be almost filled to capacity with traumas.

"Fucking hell!" I slam on my horn, praying people would take the hint and hurry the fuck up. I need to get to the hospital as fast as possible, they probably need all hands on deck and I'm not there. God damn it! What the hell am I gonna do?!

I almost crashed my car into the side of the hospital but I made, 2 fucking hours late. Link is going to kill me. I ran inside the building and scanned the ER. Everyone was surrounding a patient on a stretcher, so I decided to join the mayhem.

"Nico," someone called while turning me around. Shit, Link. I got clammy and my legs almost gave out on me under his hold.

"Look, Dr. Link, I'm so sorry for being late-"

"Stop Nico," he interrupted, "I brought in a female patient with a broken foot. Go check her x-rays."

I turn to the massive crowd of people walking away to a trauma room and turn back to Link. "But.."

"Dr. Kim," he said, completely calm. "Please go check on that patient."

I didn't bother arguing, I was late to work. Didn't really want to push my luck when my job is on the line.

xXx

A/N: Why hello! Thank you for reading this chapter! My name is A. Marguerite, and this is my first published story on ! I can't wait to share this story and many others. I should post weekly on Saturdays, and Chapter 2 is already in the works. Please review! Thank you and have a great day!

A. Marguerite


	2. Chapter 2: The Patient

I'm Here Now

Chapter 2: The Patient

All rights reserved to ABC and Grey's Anatomy

**Link's POV**

God, how could I lie straight to his face?! The poor guy doesn't have a clue yet. At least I bought a little time. I rushed over to the large clump, very loudly arguing over what to do.

"Get him to Trauma 3, now!" I owe it to Levi and to Nico to put everything I can into saving him. "Hurry, go, now!"

Once everyone was clumped in, I shut the door and the blinds. "Listen, there are 2 rules for anyone and everyone treating this patient. He is a John Doe and Dr. Kim is not allowed anywhere near him. Got it?"

There were various murmurs of agreement as people worked to check the guy over. Good enough for me. "Page Grey, Shepard, Hunt, Pierce, Webber, and the Chief. This is a VIP patient and we need the best of the best."

I started to examine him and really wished I wasn't called an "ortho god". His pelvis was broken and his right hip was subluxed, his left ankle was definitely broken, and multiple ribs were broken. Everything would need to be fixed in surgery, but this is already a lot for one person to go through. I can't even imagine what else lies under the surface.

Everyone except the chief had arrived and done their examinations. Schmitt was bad off, we all agreed, and he needs emergency surgery. We also figured that if everyone were to operate on him, it would be too much for his body. So, we need to make a game plan and fast.

"There's internal bleeding in his abdomen!" Grey shouted.

"His heart can't take an ex-lap with everything else, Meredith!" Pierce argued back.

"We can't operate if his brain herniates!" Shepard kept firing.

"We can't operate if he bleeds out from his stomach, Amelia!"

"We can't save him if he dies," Richard boomed, "and he will die if we continue arguing pointlessly. Here's what we're going to do: Dr. Grey and I will do an ex-lap to find the source of the bleeding. Drs. Shepard and Pierce will continually monitor his brain and heart. Drs. Lincoln and Kim will begin repairing...everything there."

"But Dr. Webber-"

"Hush Link," he interrupted, "I know it's a conflict of interest, but you need Nico to assist you. It's the only way to get in and out quickly. His face will be covered with a drape the entire time, the name will stay as John Doe, and you can give your fellow a verbal history of what needs to be done. Everyone understand?

I and everyone else agree and go our separate ways to private prepare for this extremely important surgery. Maggie, Meredith, and Amelia all left in a big huff, I couldn't imagine living with all 3 of them. At least they're all putting Levi's needs first, even if to them, he's 'just an intern.' Now, I need to go tell my intelligent fellow to join me on his soon-to-be fiance's surgery without telling him it's his soon-to-be fiance. God save us all.

xXx

**Nico's POV**

I try calling Levi again with no answer. It must've been my fifth try. He must be busy, probably in surgery with a trauma. Hopefully, I'll run into one of his intern friends and ask them.

"Nico," Link called as he came up to me, "you alright? Your hands are shaking."

"Yeah I'm fine, just need something to occupy myself with. I'm still waiting for those x-rays, radiology is backed up." It wasn't a lie, per se. I do need to do something with my hands, but would I consider myself fine? Probably not.

"If you're up for it, we got a John Doe needing emergency surgery. That could solve your problem."

I nod and he turns to leave. "Wait, Nico?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

My hands got clammy and I felt the perspiration on the crook of my neck. "Can I try and get Levi to assist with us?"

Link thought for a moment, "I think the OR will be too full. This patient needs a lot of work." I just nod in response. I'm disappointed but I get it, hopefully, the gallery will be open so he can watch. "Come on, Kim, let's get scrubbed."

I leave Levi one more text and follow behind Link. I hope it takes my mind off everything.

xXx

"Lincoln," Dr. Webber says as we scrub, "did you give Dr. Kim the history?"

"Ah no, it must've slipped my mind." Dr. Webber just nods in response. "So, Dr. Kim, a young, male John Doe arrives with a broken pelvis, subluxed right hip, broken left ankle, and numerous broken ribs. Dr. Grey is doing an ex-lap and we are working our way through everything else."

"We're getting x-rays in the OR, this patient was in such critical condition, he was brought straight here to start." There was such a rhythm between the two attendings, it could've been planned ahead of time. I'm not convinced they didn't.

I felt bad for this guy, young and should be living his life. But now he's getting emergency surgery and has the possibility of not making out alive. I don't understand how we as surgeons can work our hardest with that on our shoulders. I have to see Levi after this, seeing his face makes everything better. "Do we know anything about this guy? His name or family, anything?"

Link looked as though he wanted to throw up, or cry, or both; Richard just looked pitiful. Neither gave me an answer.

"Looks like Dr. Grey's ready," I pipe up, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Should we begin?"

Link clears his throat, "Yeah, let's do this. You ready, Nico?"

I sure hope so.

A/N: Hello again! I know I said I would update on Saturday but I basically haven't stopped writing. It's a little short but things will start picking up in the next 2-3 chapters. A couple more POVs will be added, I promise it will be more than Link and Nico's POV. This chapter is short but I didn't want to add any more or else the chapter would be too long, the next chapter is pretty major. I am putting up a poll on my profile, it is very important that you vote on it! This will help decide the outcome of a couple of the following chapters. Please review, it makes me a better writer! Have a great day!

A. Marguerite


	3. Chapter 3: The Trauma Part 2

I'm Here Now

Chapter 3: The Trauma Part 2

Warning: A bit of cursing

All rights reserved to ABC and Grey's Anatomy

**Taryn's POV, earlier that day**

"Oh my god Taryn, he's so hot!" Dahlia is on another rant about Dr. Avery. "You never see the way he looks at me!"

"It's the same way Dr. Grey looks at me," I laugh at my own expense. I do think Dr. Grey, er Meredith, is hot. She's pretty, smart, the whole package, except for gay. Andrew got lucky in that department. "Have you seen Levi or Casey?"

"Isn't it their day off?" She checks her phone for the date.

"Interns don't have days off, Dr. Qadri."

"You're completely right," Casey comes up with three cups of coffee, "It was my day off. I just got here. Apparently, there's a trauma. I would've gotten one for Levi but I ran out of arm room. Plus, his new arm candy would've bought him one."

Coffee almost snorts out of my nose. "Casey, he doesn't even drink coffee. He likes hot chocolate or tea."

"'Cause you guys are such BFFs, you know each other's drink orders. If you don't like what I order, you should get us coffee." Casey takes a sip as we all walk down the corridor. "Where is he, anyway? If he was off today, he should've gotten paged here."

"That's the question of the hour, he hasn't shown up yet. Taryn, you guys are BFFs, has he texted you?"

I check my phone just in case, "Nothing today. So no one's heard anything from Levi?" They shake their heads. "That's weird. What about Nico?"

Casey thinks for a moment. "I...might've seen him pull in just now. He almost crashed into the side of the building."

"So, Levi wasn't in the car with him." They both nod in agreement. "Well, I'll ask around. I've gotta go, I'm in the pit today." I wave and walk off to the nurse's station to grab an iPad. "Have you guys seen Dr. Kim or Dr. Schmitt today?"

A redheaded nurse thinks, "No, I don't think I have, not since they both left yesterday. Dr. Lincoln just asked for us to page Dr. Kim for this incoming trauma. I reckon you should be prepared as well, Dr. Helm."

I just nod and leave, a bit disappointed. So he isn't here and nobody's seen him, maybe he's sick.

"Helm!" Dr. Grey yelled from 10 feet away, "Follow me."

I don't ask anything, just scurry behind her. "They paged for a general consult on a VIP patient." I was just about to ask who, but the door to Trauma 3 opened and we were thrown into chaos.

"Meredith," Dr. Link called, "we need your help. It's Schmitt."

"Holy crap!" My stomach dropped, I almost threw up. I honestly could've. "Levi?!"

I didn't realize Dr. Grey left and Dr. Link took her place until he put his hands on my shoulder. "Helm—Taryn," his tone was soft, almost pitiful, "You know your limits. Are you okay to work? Because if you feel you can't work, you need to go home. This _John Doe_ needs special attention."

There was a strangled cry and it didn't register to me that the noise came from me. "I can work," I said after a moment. "I can work," I said more confidently. "Can I have a minute to refocus?"

He nodded, "Go ahead, step out for a moment and get ready to work."

The door shut behind me and it took everything I had to not break down right in the middle of the ER. Levi, my best friend, is fighting for his life. Sweet Levi, I don't know what I'll do if I lose you. I wipe my face, take a few breaths, and step back inside.

"Fluid in the upper left quadrant, I'll need to do an ex-lap to find out what's causing it, there might be some liver damage. Did you get labs yet?

"I sent in a full blood workup but we're getting scans in the OR. Radiology is too backed up and I already requested for someone to be ready for x-rays and CTs." Dr. Link said.

"Can I get an ultrasound in here?" Dr. Grey called to no one in particular. I heard someone shuffle out the door. Dr. Pierce came in, followed closely by Dr. Shepard. The latter spoke up first, "Whoa, is this Glasses?" I nod, listening and watching Meredith intently. "Helm, check his extremities."

I check his hands and feet, all responsive, while Dr. Shepard checked his pupils. "He's responsive but that scalp lac scares me. I need to get a CT. Helm, stitch this up for me, please. When are we going for scans?"

"In the OR," Dr. Grey responded. I got a suture kit and a stool. My hands were shaking but no one noticed. The fate of Levi's face is in my hands. "Should Dr. Avery suture this?"

"Relax Helm, you won't leave a scar," Dr. Link responded, reading my thoughts. Though, the quiver in his voice gave me enough of an answer. He was scared too. Nico is Link's best friend, and now he's hiding a big secret. If Nico finds out, well, no one wants to think of that.

"His BP is too low," Dr. Pierce concluded, "he needs a transfusion. Does anyone know his blood type?"

"O Negative," I respond. It's the reason he got nicknamed Bloodbank, or part of the reason.

"Helm, go get 2 units of O neg from the blood bank and tell them we need lots of it on standby for an emergency surgery." She responded.

I scurry off to the blood bank and back, not even realizing I was running by the time I got back. By then, Dr. Webber had arrived and managed to get everyone to get ready while nurses transported him to the OR to get prepped. I give one the 2 units and hurry to the nearest on-call room. As I turn the corner, I run right into, none other than, Casey.

"Woah, calm down Taryn. Where's the fire? Have you seen Levi?"

I shake my head, afraid to say anything. My eyes carry unshed tears but I can't break down. Not yet. He still has a chance, he's a healthy, young guy. He will survive. I can't catch a breath, I won't live if he dies. Seeing his boyfriend break down by not getting a chance to say goodbye, that will kill me. Not being able to say goodbye to my best friend, that will, honest to God, kill me. I feel like I'm dying already.

"Taryn, what's wrong? Hey, listen, come on, let's sit down."

My ears feel like they're clogged with water, I feel like my head is getting shoved underwater. I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe. I felt a cool mask touch my face and oxygen flowing but I still can't get a deep breath. Casey was talking to me, or at me, but I can't hear him.

"..promise you're okay. Just breathe Taryn, just like that. You're okay. Do you feel better?" I nod, taking the mask from him. He let out a deep breath, "Taryn, what happened?"

I shake my head, "Get...chief." He nods and sits beside me. I can't remember getting to the floor.

A few minutes later, she walks in, obviously annoyed, "What the hell is the matt - Dr. Helm, what's the matter?" She kneeled down and started talking to me like I was an injured animal. "Dr. Parker, thank you for your help but I'll take it from here."

He gives me a sad smile, wipes his hands on his scrub pants, and closes his door on the way out.

"Now, what's going on?"

I set the oxygen mask down and take a minute to think about what I'm about to explain. How do you even explain what just happened?

"It's Levi...Schmitt." She looked shocked but urged me to keep going. "He got hurt in the trauma, really bad. He's going into surgery, I'm supposed to assist. I can't sit around and not help him, Dr. Bailey. But I won't survive if he-"

"Don't you dare, Dr. Helm! He is young, healthy, and won't go down without a fight. Calm down. Now," she stood up and helped me off the floor, "we are going to go to that OR and help any way we can. If you need to step out, that's fine. Are you sure you're okay to work?"

I nod, there are no more words left for me to say. The faster we get to the OR, the more chance I get to save my friend, the faster it'll be over. The elevator went too fast. There was nothing to truly prepare me for this surgery. In med school, they never teach you about what to do when you're about to cut your best friend open. That isn't a normal thing you're supposed to learn!

"Ready, Helm?" Dr. Bailey asked, but it was rhetorical. No one can ever be ready for this. We grabbed masks and walked into OR 2.

"I was page..Dr. Nico, I wasn't expecting to see you here. _Dr. Webber_, can you brief me and Dr. Helm while we scrub?" It was a question, but there was no room for argument. "Dr. Grey, you can begin without us. We'll be right in."

Dr. Grey started to give directions to start while we began to scrub. "Richard Webber, what the hell were you thinking?" Dr. Bailey's voice was hushed, but that made it scarier. "Makin' that poor boy perform a surgery on _him_?

Dr. Webber was about to give an answer but she beat him to it, "No. No! You didn't tell him? What if something goes wrong? Richard, what are we gonna do if-"

"Now that's enough Miranda!" he practically yelled. "Now listen," he said softer, "what was I supposed to do? Make Lincoln perform multiple complex repairs without an assist? I know we're a teaching hospital but that boy isn't a lesson! He's one of our own Bailey, and he needs all the help we can give him."

She thought for a way to respond and settled with a conflicted groan and started scrubbing. They were both right, there was no time to argue about this situation. Even if he wasn't on the table, there isn't enough time in the day to debate. But he is, hanging onto life by a thread, and we need to take extraordinary measures to keep him alive. So we shall.

A/N: Hi, thank you for reading Chapter 3! Sorry, I'm a day later, time slipped away from me yesterday. I wanted to bring in Helm's POV since out of all 4 interns, Taryn and Levi are closest. This is the beginning of some conflict in the future (wink wink) so we'll see more of her and the B-Team. Please please please vote in the poll! It's super important because it will be necessary for the next 2 upcoming chapters. Chapter 4 and 5 may have to be postponed depending on how many poll votes I get. Please review! Have a good day!


	4. Chapter 4

"Everyone ready?" Dr. Grey looked around for a minute, seeing everyone nod their head except Dr. Lincoln. In actuality, he felt like he was going to throw up. He wasn't really sure he was ready for the next several hours.

Link had heard lots about _the _Levi Schmitt from Nico, ever since they showed up at Grey Sloan. Admittedly, sometimes he'd silently wish Nico would talk about something other than that intern; he's wished that more than he will confess. But after half-listening to his best friend for a while, he learned a lot about who he is as a person. Link has come to respect Levi as a smart, capable surgeon, at least from what he's heard. Of course, as Nico's best friend, Link's ready to kick Schmitt's ass if he hurts Nico.

"Dr. Lincoln? Dr. Lincoln!" Meredith kept repeating until Link finally looked towards her. "Are you ready to begin?"

He nods and quickly begins to nod more confidently. It doesn't matter if he's ready because he isn't. Everyone in the OR knows something Nico Kim doesn't, but should, and his best friend and mentor is hiding it. He's letting it happen and letting him operate on his boyfriend. He could've stopped it, at least tried a little bit harder. It isn't too late, he reminds himself. But everyone knows, you can't go back.

"Alright then, Bohkee, 10-blade," she calls and begins.

"Where's that CT?" Dr. Shepard called to no one. "I need that CT now!" Meredith physically shivered but everyone was too busy to notice. Someone _else _needed a CT but didn't get one because of incompetent doctors. Drs. Grey and Shepard will be sure that won't happen.

"Shepard's right, where is that CT? And where is Webber?" Dr. Grey called once more.

"CT and x-rays are coming!" A circulating nurse responds.

"Dr. Link, are we going to reduce that hip dislocation?" Nico asks. "Or, do we need to repair his foot?"

"The hip," he responds. "I don't know what damage was done to the foot." The two reduced his hip and backed away to give the other surgeons more room to work. They exchanged a look, one that said so much but so little at the same time. The two were anxious for a similar reason: Levi.

"X-ray and CT are here!" the circulating nurse shouted.

"Alright everyone," Dr. Webber said, emerging from the scrub room, "everyone get a lead apron on or step away."

Some people stepped into the scrub room and everyone else got their apron on. Nico and Link walked outside the OR. They both nearly fell straight on the floor. The tension is thick in Grey Sloan, one of their own was on the table. On the surface, he was clumsy and dropped glasses into patients, but the surface is only skin deep. He was a confident doctor who cares about his patients and works his ass off to prove himself. Slowly, every doctor under that roof saw what Nico always did: Levi Schmitt was a force to be reckoned with. _Is._ He _is _a force to be reckoned with.

"You can go, Nico," Link said while staring a hole into his sneaker.

"Don't you need an assist on the rest of his surgery?" He countered, but the attending shook his head.

"It should be a simple repair."

"Well, if you don't mind, I would like to stay."

"Nicoー"

"No! Listen, he's a John Doe. No ID, no family, nothing. As of now, he has no one. And my boyfriend," he starts laughing, (crying, both?), "hasn't been answering his phone. Now, I could go drive myself crazy with every single phone call and text or I can do my job. Can I do that, _Dr. Lincoln_? Can I _do my job_?!"

He's gone full-out hysterics and Link physically stands up and grabs his fellow tightly by the shoulders. "_Dr. Kim_, you aren't in the right state of mind. Go home. I can finish here."

Nico just gets up and walks down the hallway. Where he's going, neither the men know. But he has to get out.

xXx

_Nico had just gotten off a 32-hour shift and finally made it back to his apartment. He was afraid he'd fall asleep at the wheel and almost did twice. Shoving the keys in the door and slammed it behind him, he had the sudden realization that it was 2 A.M._

"_Shit," he muttered under his breath, setting his coat and shoes by the door. In the living room, there was a bouquet of sunflowers, a lit candelabra, and his beautiful boyfriend, snoring away on the couch. Their throw blanket was thrown haphazardly, halfway falling to the floor. Levi's glasses and contacts case were on the floor next to the table, Nico was relieved to see. He always worried Levi would forget to take them out. He was sleeping so soundly that Nico didn't want to disrupt him. So, he stepped into the kitchen. What he didn't expect to find was two plates of homemade eggplant parm wrapped in plastic, ready to go. Levi must've cooked for him._

_There was a bit of a shuffle then a big thud onto the floor. Nico rushed out to find his boyfriend awoken from his sleep, trying to sit up. It was kind of hard for Nico to not laugh._

"_I'm up!" he shouted tiredly._

"_Good morning," Nico stifled a laugh. He lifted Levi into their bedroom and by the time Nico had changed into his pajama pants, Levi was already asleep. They both had shifts the next day but Levi went in first._

xXx

That was last night, Nico remembered. He ended up grabbing a coffee and sitting in a waiting area, leaving Link with the patient. Last night was the only time he was able to see Levi in three days (but felt like 3 years), and he was half-asleep. He even waited to eat with Nico, poor soul probably went hungry waiting.

He still hasn't heard from Levi. Granted, he's an intern and is up to his eyebrows in work. And there is a trauma, a truck flipped. Still, Levi always manages to message him. Every message makes Nico's day a little brighter. His lock screen is a story.

xXx

_They both had a Saturday off and Levi decided they would spend the day at Pike Place Market. Nico didn't mind, he loved spending time with his boyfriend. God, his _boyfriend_. It falls off his tongue so easily. And it was easy, Nico knew almost instantly Levi Schmitt was the one he wanted to spend his life with. _

_Pike Place was bustling with activity and Nico held Levi close. He was so warm, Nico didn't want to let go. Levi was dragging him from shop to shop, looking at various produce and crafts. After a nice day of looking at shops, the two ended up at the wharf._

"_The bay is so beautiful," Levi said, staring out into the horizon. _

"_Not as much as you."_

_Levi laughed. God, how Nico loved his laugh. "You are so cheesy!"_

_Nico just pulled him close, "I love you."_

_The younger man just sighed contently. Three words would never be enough to express what Nico feels for Levi, but it would suffice. For now. _

xXx

Nico was brought back to reality by Dr. Parker running down the hallway. He spotted the fellow and almost stopped dead in his tracks.

"Dr. Kim—" his pager started going off like crazy. He looked down, and then stopped. "Damnit!"

He couldn't get two words out to the intern before he bolted up the stairs. With nothing better to do, he followed Casey. Nico followed him all the way to the OR where a patient with hair that Nico from a mile away had stunned him. There was no way. He must've have imagined it. He wouldn't have operated on _him_, the Chief was in surgery, no one would've let him. No way.

Before he realized what had happened, he was staring at Link scrubbing.

"Yes Dr. Kim?"

He cleared his throat, "So, how did the rest of his surgery go?

"Fine, he had a Jones fracture and we're keeping an eye on his ribs."

"But he's still a _John Doe_?"

There was a moment of uneasy silence and Link waited a second too long before nodding. "Yeah, the accident was on the news so hopefully his family will be in contact with us."

Nico waited until the attending finally looked at him.

"I know, Link."


End file.
